GM Ryan McDonough: ‘Overwhelming Likelihood’ Suns Keep No. 1 Pick

While the Phoenix Suns are keeping their options open, general manager Ryan McDonough admitted Friday that the “overwhelming likelihood” is that the franchise keeps the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

McDonough maintained that they are willing to part with the pick if the right trade is offered, but added that those deals will be hard to find, via USA Today:

“It would have to be a young, proven star player with multiple years on his contract, multiple years of team control. Once you start whittling down the list, that list probably shrinks to a handful of players if not fewer players than that. So I think the overwhelming likelihood is that we keep the pick. However, we’re open, if those teams call us or we call them. But as of now obviously we’re planning on keeping it.”

This is the first time in franchise history that the Suns will select first overall. The leading candidates to be taken are Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton and European guard/forward Luka Doncic.